Ball pressure outside prevented easy baskets inside, and led to transition baskets on the other side Friday evening at Roncalli Gym.
Aberdeen Roncalli used a stellar defensive effort to stymie another opponent on the way to a 66-34 non-conference girls’ basketball win over Herreid-Selby Area to improve to 5-0.
As has been in the case in the early part of the season, the smaller Cavaliers created havoc out front to help offset a height disadvantage down low.
“As we preach, a lot of our post defense is also with our guards. Creating ball pressure on the perimeter I think was huge for us tonight,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We talked about that the last couple of days, if we can continue to pressure the guards and not making easy passes to their post players, it makes it a lot easier for the post defenders as well.”
The Wolverines have a pair of six-foot sisters in Jada Rossow and Jordyn Rossow. While the duo combined for 15 points and 17 rebounds, they were never able to get fully on track because of Roncalli’s defense, which was responsible for 22 turnovers in the contest.
“I always talk to our girls about, we’ve got to have Plan B,” said Herreid-Selby Area coach Ryan Yackley. “We have to be able to adjust if that doesn’t work. What do we do? Taking care of the ball, handling pressure is a big part of that.”
The Cavaliers broke the game open early in the second quarter with a 10-0 run. Pressure defense outside kept the Wolverines from obtaining high-percentage attempts down low.
“We definitely work in practice getting up and down the floor a lot, and trying to just get a lot of ball pressure, too,” said Roncalli sophomore Morgan Helms. “That’s one of our main things, especially for this game having some good post players, you have to have a lot of ball pressure just so they don’t get the pass in.”
Helms, who finished with a career-high 11 points, brings high energy in a reserve role for the Cavaliers.
“It’s kind of like keep the energy high, hustle as long as I’m out there,” Helms said, “and just do what I can to help the rest of the team out.”
Usually that means harassing opposing ball handlers and playing lock-down defense for Roncalli.
“I told our coaches at halftime, that defensively is where she really hangs her hat,” Larson said, “just like we do, but she really played well on the defensive end for us.”
The Wolverines could not manage more than 10 points in any quarter and were unable to find consistent offense.
“We just have to really focus on running the plays correctly, moving the ball fast, and getting the right looks at the right time,” said Jordyn Rossow, who led HSA with nine points.
Rossow also hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds, including four offensive caroms. Despite having a height-advantage, Rossow said it was a challenge grabbing rebounds against the pesky Cavaliers.
“It’s kind of hard, but you just have to really try and box them out, get them out,” Rossow said. “You’ve got to stay mentally tough.”
While Roncalli’s defense was on-point, the Cavaliers’ offense was also cooking. The hosts nailed seven three-point field goals and then got out in transition in the second half to put the game out of reach.
“They’re either hitting shots or they’re just in transition,” Yackley said. “That just speaks volumes to why they’re as good as they are.”
Ava Hanson poured in 22 points to lead the Cavaliers, including 15 in the third quarter, most on solid passes for transition baskets.
“I definitely thought the second half we got out and ran and scored a lot of easy baskets. It was nice to see how well we shared the ball,” Larson said. “We had a lot of two-on-ones, where we made the extra pass for a layup. I thought Claire (Crawford) had a couple of really good passes in the full court. Ava was the recipient of a lot of those.”
Jada Rossow contributed six points and six rebounds for Herreid-Selby Area, which slipped to 2-2 on the season. The Wolverines are at Stanley County on Friday, Dec. 29.
Despite the setback, the Wolverines are planning on learning and improving from the Roncalli contest.
“I love playing teams like this,” Yackley said. “We need to know where we’re at long term for our goal to get to a state tournament and see what we can do.”
Pace of play is something that Herreid-Selby Area can benefit from moving forward, according to Jordyn Rossow.
“It makes our defense a lot quicker for upcoming games,” the sophomore said.
Roncalli will now face something it hasn’t had to deal with so far this season: an opponent on the road. After five straight home games to start the campaign, the Cavaliers travel to Webster on Saturday, Dec. 30.
“It’s a conference game on the road, our first one of the year,” Larson said, “so we’ll have to be prepared for them.”
HERREID-SELBY AREA (2-3): Stephanie Allbee 0 3-4 3, Sophia Ritter 0 0-2 0, Mya Ebel 1 1-2 3, Jordyn Rossow 4 1-2 9, Jada Rossow 3 0-2 6, Katie Allbee 2 1-2 6, Taryn Hettick 2 1-2 7. Totals 12-33 7-16 34.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-0): McKenna O’Keefe 1 2-4 4, Camryn Bain 3 0-0 8, Maddie Huber 2 1-2 5, Claire Crawford 2 0-0 6, Ava Hanson 10 0-0 22, Morgan Helms 3 5-9 11, Ava Danielson 1 0-0 3, Rylee Voeller 2 1-1 5, Olivia Dix 0 0-2 0, Karsyn Davis 1 0-0 2. Totals 25-48 9-18 66.
Herreid-Selby Area 9 18 28 34
Aberdeen Roncalli 14 31 53 66
3-point field goals – K. Albee, Hettick (2); Bain (2), Crawford (2), Hanson (2), Danielson. Total fouls – Herreid-Selby Area 12; Aberdeen Roncalli 12. Rebounds – Herreid-Selby Area 29 (Jordyn Rossow 11); Aberdeen Roncalli 30 (O’Keefe 7). Turnovers – Herreid-Selby Area 22; Aberdeen Roncalli 9.
